


R.H.V.S.

by orphan_account



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: AI/Cyborg!Rhys, Alternate Universe, Angst, Blood and Violence, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Future Cybernetics, M/M, Original Character(s), Pre Sequel!Jack, Slow Burn, Younger!Angel, borderlands the pre sequel spoilers, jack isn't that shitty of a dad, more angst than fluff, tags added as needed
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-30
Updated: 2017-08-25
Packaged: 2018-12-08 19:58:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 16,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11653665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Guns, commands, and everything violent. These were the ingredients to control the perfect military AI, something no other company could defeat until a lowly programmer got his hands on it.Jack had never been a fan of artificial intelligence. AI's were just another item he'd program for the Hyperion higher ups. But when times became tough and he was forced into becoming an AI's Activator, Jack finds himself growing more and more intrigued with Rhys's behavior and he is not going to give him up easily.





	1. The Activator

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: In future chapters there are Borderlands The Pre-Sequel spoilers!!!

The next time Jack saw Claptrap he was gonna kill that damn bot. Here he was, ducking behind smoking controls panels, surrounded by Dahl soldiers and his only ‘weapon’ was some dumb flash drive. It wasn’t a gun like he requested from the Vault Hunters (which, in their line of business, would’ve been easy to obtain). No, the six thought it was a genius idea for the stupidest one of the group to send him a fucking flash drive with a supposed weapon programmed inside. Did they really think this was some joke-

His angry thought process was cut short when a bullet broke through the metal sheet beside his face, sticking itself in some exposed wires and causing sparks to fly out. Raising up both arms, the sparks danced off his jacket sleeves and onto the ground. He knew that if he was gonna survive this encounter he would have to ignore his anger and trust Claptrap. Which was pretty impossible, so tonight he would be dying. The flash drive in his hand was gripped tighter, Jack peeking over the edge and towards the armed soldiers. There was about thirty of them, each with an identical uniform and guns.

Guess he was doing the impossible.

Swallowing down the nervous lump in his throat, Jack quickly rose up from the floor with both hands in the air. The Dahl soldiers abruptly stopped their shooting, watching the programmer in case he made any sudden movements. For some reason, this batch of bastards didn’t seem so insistent on killing him as if given special orders, but Jack highly doubted that. So, they spent almost an hour shooting up the control room and trying to scare the shit out of Jack. 

Luckily for Jack, he didn't have much to shit out, his shitty personality already spewing it all over the place. He took a step closer and his eyes started roaming the panel, wondering just why in the hell a ‘weapon program’ was on a flash drive. No one in their right mind puts something so dangerous on such an outdated-

“Nice and slow,” one of the few attackers spoke in a slow, condescending voice. Oh, that one Jack was personally gonna kill. Mister ‘I’m so cool and powerful with my gun’ that currently was inching just a bit closer. That’s when he saw the flash drive port, taunting him on the complete opposite side by the stairs leading off the raised platform. “Move away from the control panel nice and slow,” Jack struggled with holding back a grin, pretending to follow directions and making sure that he was in arm’s length of the port. Just a little bit more and he’d have the sucker plugged in. “Wait, what’s that in his hand?”

“Well, shit.” Time seemed to speed up in the next few seconds. Bullets fired out from the guns and Jack quickly plugged the flash drive in, hissing out when his shoulder was shot. He gingerly felt around his jacket for the wound, cursing out as blood dripped through the cut and into the port. A few sparks jumped out and a nearby button started beeping, Jack dodging through all the poorly aimed shots and slamming his bloody hand down. At first nothing happened, his breathing heavy and heterochromatic eyes frantically searching the room just begging for something- anything- to happen. 

_ >PROTOCOL R.H.V.S REBOOT BEGUN . . . _

That’s when a genderless voice rang throughout the room, the Dahl soldiers stumbling around and searching with raised guns for the source. Jack found himself also searching with weary eyes and a hand pressed against his shoulder in a weak attempt for pressure. A couple monitors flickered on, green lines of code passing through at a pace Jack couldn’t keep up with and in a language Jack couldn’t understand.

_ >REBOOT SUCCESSFUL _

_ >WELCOME JACK _

But it all stopped at once; the code turned blue, the genderless voice fell silent, and an eerie tension filled the room. Mister ‘Talks A Lot’ rushed towards the control panel. He reached out and grasped onto Jack’s collar, tugging him forward. Jack bit his tongue when his wounded shoulder hit the metal roughly, the tip of an assault rifle being pressed under his chin and shirt being held so tight the creases would most likely be permanent.

“Just what in the hell did you do?” He didn’t even bother trying to surrender, Jack simply letting his head fall forward so the gun’s tip was pressing against his forehead. There was no point in lying his way out of this. With both eyes squeezing shut, he let his final thoughts be about his daughter and waited for the bullet. Then a click echoed through the office and the bullet never came. He hesitantly opened an eye to find the Dahl soldier furiously shaking his gun, letting go of Jack’s rumpled shirt. “What in the-”

_ “Multiple threats detected,” _ the voice reappeared again and Jack couldn’t help noticing the slightest bit of difference between the bodiless voices, this present one sounding more human than the previous one.  _ “Activator sensed in danger. Protocol 2587 activated. Enemy systems neutralized and foreign weapons subdued,” _ one by one the soldiers tried shooting their guns, none able to fire a single bullet.  _ “Turrets online,” _ a low buzzing sounded throughout the entire room and Jack found five Hyperion issued turrets extend out from the ceiling above his head, red laser dot sights aimed at different soldiers.  _ “Shield defenses active.”  _ A familiar blue, holographic barrier rose up around the control panel and Jack couldn’t help the grin growing on his face. 

The Dahl leader was knocked back from the shield, his fists pounding on the barrier. Jack just grinned, leaning forward over the panel and ignoring the stinging pain in his shoulder that was turning numb from excitement. When Jack ripped the gun out from the leader’s arms he realized that the turrets hadn’t fired yet. Everything was still silent and he couldn’t have that.

“What are you waiting for, sweetheart?” He leaned back over the panel and heard a satisfying unlocking sound resonate from the gun. “Nice and slow, right?” Jack taunted with that same condescending tone, not even blinking an eye as his finger tugged on the trigger. The bullet hit the man through his helmet and caused his body to jerk, fall back, and hit the ground with a thump. “Start firing those turrets.”

_ “Understood sir,” _ without another word the turrets started to rapidly fire, one by one the soldiers falling in a domino effect. A couple more Hyperion turrets exposed themselves in the back row, shooting anyone who tried escaping. With each shot and falling body, Jack couldn’t help the exhilaration in himself, shooting a few nearby people with the ‘borrowed’ Dahl gun.  _ “All threats have been neutralized,” _ that’s when the shooting stopped, the turrets returning to their places. Jack did not expect for one of the screens to flicker on once again, the very familiar face of Nisha appearing on screen.  _ “It appears your echo has been damaged during the fray. I have taken the liberty of returning a call from the Lawbringer.”  _ He smoothed back his hair as if he hadn’t just been in gunfire for almost two hours.

“Hey Nish, grab Claptrap will you cupcake?” Not once in Jack’s life did he ever dream of saying those words, but now that he did the impossible he would never do it again. Nisha gave him a strange look through the screen, wondering just what in the hell those Dahl people did to his head, and yelling something over her shoulder. Taking this brief time period of shuffling, Jack shrugged off his jacket and pressed the leather against his bleeding wound that no longer felt numb anymore.

He rose his head just in time to see Claptrap being handed the echo, that annoyingly bright blue eye staring straight at him. “Ah, my favorite little bot. Look, you better start telling me where the fuck you found this… Thing,” he waved his hand around and wiped some blood off his face. “And fast because that weapon you sent me just hacked into their guns and killed thirty men with only seven turrets.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got an idea for an angsty pre-sequel AI Rhys AU and thought 'fuck it lets do this' so here we are lol  
> and was posting at 2:22am a good idea on my part? probably not


	2. Fuck Protocol

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack realizes that he should never rely on Claptrap for answers.

“Woah! I never knew  _ that _ could happen after an AI’s rebooting process!” Claptrap’s overly cheery voice only made Jack’s headache worse, the screen holding his call facing towards the chair when it finished showing the group the massacre. Pinching the bridge of his nose, Jack breathed in and out of his mouth in an attempt of regaining patience. He had to keep reminding himself that if he hung up now then he’d once again have to call the stupid bot. “To think-”

“Wait wait wait. Did you just say reboot?” Jack removed his hand from his face, leaned forward on his elbows, kept his jacket securely wrapped around his wound, and eyed the flash drive that still was stuck in the port. He quickly rolled over, removing the device only for his eyebrows to furrow. His blood in the port was completely gone and the entire device was charred over, some bits flaking off and falling like cigarette ashes. “Just what in the hell did you make me do?”

“I don’t know, actually! Nisha-”

“Hey, don’t blame this on me.” The familiar voice of Nisha rose up from further away, the screen now revealing the Lawbringer knelt down beside Timothy. His doppelganger had a hand over his stomach, groaning out and Jack was glad Claptrap moved the echo when Timothy started vomiting. He really didn’t want to see that again.

“We found it in a Bandit camp! My scan showed that it was some kind of new weapon and Nisha thought we could get brownie points if-” this time her whip was cracked out, the leather slamming against Claptrap and making him shriek out. “Eeee! Why did you do that!”

“Because you need to shut up!” Nisha yelled back, the woman kicking her boot against Claptrap’s rectangular side and pinning him down. Athena’s familiar voice rose up in the back, trying to bark off orders towards the arguing two. One by one the others joined in and soon enough the Vault Hunters were bickering like children. 

This wasn’t taken lightly by Jack, all the loud noises making him lose his patience and his blood boil. Slamming both hands flat on the control panel, he ignored the sparks that stung him and sharply turned his head towards the screen. Their arguing ended abruptly, Nisha currently being halfway held off Claptrap by Wilhelm and Claptrap having his arms up in a karate pose.

_ “Jack, your blood pressure is rising at an abnormal rate. I suggest taking deep breaths,”  _ the AI’s voice broke through Jack’s anger flash, the programmer curling his hands into fists.  _ “Try counting down from ten at least. If you keep this up you’ll injure yourself or worse.” _ He breathed out heavily through his nose, closed both eyes and tried calming down despite the raging volcano inside of him.

Usually, Jack took his anger out through insults or shooting some poor sap in the kneecap, but this worked too. Breathing in and out from his mouth, counting down from ten, and flexing his fingers Jack slowly spoke.

“Look, I’m not in the mood to deal with you both. How about you two start answering my fucking questions before I rip out both your vocal cords and desert you both onto Pandora. Sound good?” There was a hostile, threatening tone to his voice that made both hunters nod in silence. He couldn’t actually do that and the most he could probably do was just shoot them, but it was the thought that counted and Jack was for goddamn sure he’d terrify people.

It was the most he  _ could  _ do. After being stuck as a programmer for almost ten years he never did rise up in the Hyperion chain, but his name had spread around after some interesting business deals a few years back and that alone struck fear in people. It felt good having power even if it was small.

“Yes, sir!” Claptrap replied back, half-saluting Jack and Nisha was properly pulled away from the bot. “Anyways, we sent you the flash drive hoping for some extra moolah. That’s code for-”

“I know what the fuck money is.”

“Ok! Well, we found the flash drive and I actually don’t know anything else. My scan only showed that it’s a weapon and I thought you’d find a use for it,” Jack just shook his head. “Actually, you could always send it back if you don’t want it! I could mess around and-” useless. He waved a hand around, standing from the chair as the AI ended the call without even being given an order.

“What’s your name, kid?” He started messing around with the control panel, pushing different glowing buttons or flipping switches or turning dials. Everything he did seemed to change nothing in the room itself, Jack wondering if the Dahl soldiers had shot out everything important.

_ “My name? It’s...” _ The AI went silent for some time, the blue lines of code on the screen moving as the AI searched through it’s files. That left Jack to his own devices, literally. He started fumbling with the charred up flash drive again, an eyebrow raising when he noticed something shiny under all the char. Using his nail, he scratched away just enough to stare at the fading mark. 

It might’ve been a bright silver sometime before, but now after all the damage done it was an ugly gray and was a very familiar ‘A’ from a very familiar logo. His eyes rose over the control panel towards a dead Dahl soldier on the floor, the ‘A’ on his patch matching the flash drive. _ “Rhys. Call me Rhys.” _

“Alright, Rhys, does that stand for anything? A bit of an odd name for a piece of Dahl technology.” Jack eyed the ceiling as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. He almost felt bad knowing that this Rhys would be shut down in a matter of hours. Almost.

_ “Yes.” _

“Yes… What? Yes, it stands for something? Yes, it’s an odd name? C’mon kid I’m losing my patience here,” but Jack really wasn’t. After being on a Dahl infested space station for almost a week now, figuring out every nook and cranny from digital displays or hands-on experience, he was actually kinda lonely except he’d never admit it out loud. 

Back home he at least had his daughter to watch movies with or a few coworkers that, even though were boring beyond belief, would gladly grab a drink with him. Here on Helios was a different story. On Helios he was a joke, a verbal punching bag for Tassiter and a piece of raw meet the higher ups could chew on. When Rhys didn’t answer he sighed. “Why aren’t you answering my questions?”

_ “Protocol 4693 states-” _

“Fuck the protocol! As long as it’s just you and me here there is nothing to be held secret between us, got it? And drop the ‘yes sir’ and stick up the ass crap. If Dahl was gonna create some artificial intelligence they could’ve made some with balls at least…” The last part was more muttered than said, but Rhys picked up on it anyway. There was a slight scoff that came from the AI, Jack sitting back down in the chair and resting his cheek on his fist.

_ “Ok, Jack, how would you like me to speak?”  _ Yawning, Jack turned his head so he was staring towards the side exit that was locked up thanks to Rhys and let his eyes rest.  _ “Jack?” _

“I’m with you, kiddo, I’m with you. Just… Letting my eyes rest a bit. As for speaking, I don’t know. Make up your own personality or something I’m not good with that shit.” For once Jack really was being truthful. When Tassiter forced him (as if Jack ever had a choice) into making his personal AI Jack didn’t even bother putting in a personality. It took far more pieces of code to type, memory space to use, and precious time testing out all the bugs. He really didn’t like the idea of going through all that just to hand it over to some asswipe who probably jacked off to her voice in-

_ “Understood.”  _ There was Rhys’s voice again except it resonated with more emotion. Jack cracked a slight smile, too tired at this point to really care. He rarely smiled anymore, overburdened with work and all. Curling up in the chair, Jack kept his eyes closed and started thinking to himself about the previous events. 

To think it’s only been five days since his shuttle landed on Helios, he was made a fool of by Tassiter in the board meeting, and Dahl decided that this was the perfect time to strike. Before he knew it his body couldn’t take it anymore and succumbed to exhaustion, the man soon dozing off in the chair without another word towards the AI.


	3. Codependency

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 'John' never has been Jack's favorite name, but at least there is someone who isn't a dick about it

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am just on a roll damn

“Rhys, give me a quick scan of the space station,” Jack fumbled with the shittily fixed echo in his hand. He set the thin device down and began pacing back and forth in thought, kicking a corpse down a flight of small stairs. He ran a hand back through his hair, the stale pretzels he’d luckily found hidden away in a supply chest being held in his other hand. “I want to know- God, these things are stale as shit- everything; is anyone alive, how many Dahl soldiers are here, what shape Helios is in, can I leave, and who the fuck made these pretzels?” His eyes shot the bag a glare, but he continued eating the salty treats. “Seriously tastes like skag shit.”

 _“How would you know what skag shit tastes like?”_ Jack snorted under his breath, eating a few more pretzels to ignore the question. It was obvious that Rhys took Jack’s insult on his personality as an actual command because when he woke up from his nap the AI was acting completely different.

But it wasn’t a personality Jack was used to. He could deal with ‘all bark no bite’ or the ‘I’m going to suck up and backstab you’ attitude because that’s how the majority of Hyperion acted, but Rhys was different. Jack couldn’t really describe Rhys’s new personality being that it was just a big mix and it was pretty entertaining when he wasn’t pointing out Jack’s flaws. “ _If you don’t like the pretzels don’t eat them.”_

“I’m hungry.”

 _“Mhm. As for your orders, I have found that 30% of the escape pods ejected at the beginning of the invasion, 35% of vital signs from workers come from the Western Side of Helios, and the rest have been slaughtered. The Eastern Side, which is where we are, is completely empty besides a few CL4P-TP models that have been walking into the same door for… Quite some time now. It’s actually kinda funny.”_ The hairs on his neck bristled when a chuckle left the AI, Jack maneuvering through the body littered floor. He sounded way too human for Jack’s liking.

“Damn. How many soldiers are here and how long would it take me to reach the other side?” He pulled an assault rifle off a corpse, looking over the plain gun. Assault rifles weren’t a personal favorite of his, but a gun is a gun. Popping the ammo cartridge out, he started counting the bullets.

“ _All Dahl soldiers are on our side and there is in total 50. All 50 are separated in groups of two or four and are patrolling the halls in search for a distress signal a soldier sent out. Lucky for us they haven’t heard news of here. To reach the other side with just that limited amount of bullets and no backup would take two hours with a 75% chance of death._ ” Jack removed another gun’s bullets, taking the extra ammo clip and hooking it onto his belt.

“You really take the fun out of things. How is Helios holdin’ up?” He turned his head back towards the control panel as if making eye contact with the AI.

 _“The spaceship is in pretty shit condition, if I’m going to be honest.”_ Jack could almost hear the eye roll Rhys was giving him, the programmer making sure the messy shirt bandage around his shoulder was still good and removed his bloody jacket. He replaced his jacket with a Dahl soldier's armor. It wasn’t the best, flimsy and couldn’t really save him from a bullet, but it was better than walking around in just faded jeans and a bloody shirt. He left the helmet on the corpse, not wanting to hide his beautiful face or limit his field of vision. It was more for the first reason.

“Details, Rhysie.” Rhys sighed at the nickname.

_“Currently Helios is running on it’s emergency backup power which will last about another two or three hours. That backup power is not strong enough to send any supplies down onto Elpis or to use a fast travel station. When the power goes out anything electric will be forcefully shut down including the lights._

_The security grid is completely down and will only start back up if someone manually repairs it, but the entire engineering crew have been crashed into with a ship and floating around in space. A few turrets in the station have been hacked by Dahl forces and will shoot any Hyperion issued workers on sight. Our defense systems protecting us from outside forces are weakening with every blast.”_

“Is there any good news?” Jack glared up towards the ceiling, slipping on some knee pads and patting his chestplate.

 _“Good news? Let’s see… Um… You can leave the office if you wish? A subgroup has already-”_ that was all Jack needed to hear. Giving the office one last look, he pushed through the doors and into the hallway. Then it dawned on him.

“Will you be able to follow me?” For an extra measure, Jack poked his head back into the blood stained room. Even though he had no idea what Rhys exactly was or where he came from the AI was a valuable asset and he might come in handy in the future. Plus, he couldn’t have some foreign technology in Helios’s system unattended.

 _“Not exactly. Continue walking down the hall and take a right,”_ Jack followed the directions only for his muscles to tense up when he watched a blue CL4P-TP model wheel towards him. _“Hi.”_ His muscles relaxed when Rhys’s voice left the bot, an arm raised up.

“Hey,” he greeted back, kneeling down on the ground. That’s when he noticed that the bot was directed just a bit towards Jack’s right and the eye was shot out. “Can you even see?”

 _“Nope. I’m just following the sound of your sweet, sweet voice.”_ Rhys answered back with mild sarcasm. Standing up from the uncomfortable ground, the programmer led the blind bot through the halls by continuously talking. He walked through the halls as if he owned them, finger gunning corpses as if they were real people and would wave back. God, he was going to go crazy before they even found people. When Rhys crashed into a fake plant Jack took the bot’s hand in his, ignoring the cold metal and the two continued walking.

“You would hate Tassiter or, well, I would think you’d hate him.” Jack shook his head when thinking about his boss, a frown crossing his face.

_“I hate anyone you hate and I like anyone you like. It’s in my programming to be appealing for my Activator.”_

“Does that mean you like me?” He teased, his frown curling up into a smirk when Rhys groaned. Their ‘moment’ was ruined by Jack’s echo that started ringing with an incoming call. “Hold on,” he reached into his back pocket and answered without checking the ID, tugging Rhys forward a bit when he stopped moving. “‘Sup.”

“John? What the hell is going on?” Jack’s good mood was gone in that very instant, Tassiter’s annoying voice came crackling through the echo. Speak of the Devil. “The last time I checked in you said everything would be fixed. So, what the hell are you doing? Do you even have things in control?”

“Don’t worry about it, sir! Don’t you worry everything is under control!” A light fell from the ceiling and Jack cringed. “We’ve just been having some… Interruptions, but it’s nothing I can’t fix!”

“Just remember you are on Helios to observe. Don’t try getting any big ideas that your puny brain can’t handle,” this made Jack’s jaw lock. “Is that understood, John?” Rhys had been silent during this whole interaction.

“Yes, sir,” when the line went silent Jack groaned out a low: “Asshole.”

“I heard that!” Tassiter’s voice rose up from the echo and made Jack scream, the programmer quickly hanging up before having to explain himself. He stopped walking and stood still, breathing heavily and mismatched eyes glaring towards the device. It was Rhys who brought him out of his angry thoughts, tugging his hand and broken eye sparking some more.

 _“Come on, John, we should keep going,”_ there was a playful tone in Rhys’s voice, Jack rolling his eyes when his real name was said. As the two continued walking it was the AI who spoke up once more, the playful tone gone and replaced with something a bit more serious. _“I actually prefer Jack over John. Handsome Jack. Sounds waaay better and suits you more.”_ The programmer was unable to stop smiling now and for a moment forgot just how angry he’d been.

“Aw, are you trying to cheer me up?” He nudged his elbow into the bot’s side, Rhys groaning out loudly. The two continued walking through the deserted halls, Jack pointing things out the AI couldn’t see and bragging about himself. Once again the moment between them was ruined when Rhys stopped moving, tugging Jack’s hand back sharply. “Ow? Rhys, what the hell-”

_“Vital signs detected in the area. We aren’t alone.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you are welcome for the cliff hanger :)  
> also i can't help imagining with the whole "CL4P-TP Rhys" situation  
> just imagining Jack pulling along this blind lil bot and bragging about himself is just too cute in my head
> 
> also here is some self-advertising here. ive got a tumblr so if any y'all wanna go follow or like ask about au stuff or maybe just pop in to say hi you can always find me here: [TheHobbitSenpai](http://thehobbitsenpai.tumblr.com/)


	4. Adrenaline Rush

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> aka Jack fucks up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> who is this mysterious person?  
> how does Jack fuck up?  
> why am I asking questions?

“ _Vital signs detected in the area. We aren’t alone._ ” If the situation wasn’t so dire Jack would’ve laughed at the worried urgency in Rhys’s tone. Instead, the programmer lifted the bot up and hid around the nearest wall. His back roughly slammed against the wall and he shifted around so that Rhys was resting on top of his raised thigh like a child With an arm wrapped around his rectangular waist and using his free hand to grab his gun, Jack peeked around the corner.

Standing in the hallway was a Hyperion worker, looking around with frantic eyes and holding onto a pistol. His dress shirt was half untucked from his pants, the sleeves of his shirt ripped off and there was dry blood splattered against his pants. Both hands grasping the pistol were shaking, the bulky glasses on his face slipping. The trembling man took a cautious step forward.

“Don’t move!” Jack called over, making sure his identity was still secret. His voice must’ve sent the man in shock because he accidentally pulled the trigger, the bullet shot just hairs away from Jack’s nose and hitting a poster. Even though the situation was tense as shit Jack couldn’t help smirking, staring straight at the poster where the bullet was stuck just in between Tassiter’s eyes.

The things Jack would do to shoot Tassiter. “Put the gun down and I won’t shoot!” He flicked his attention towards Rhys who had been silent, the tire digging into him. “Rhys, how many people are here?” This was whisper-yelled, a failed attempt in being quiet.

“H- how many ar- are there of you?” The nerd was still holding his shaky gun towards Jack. God, does this guy not get the hint? Sighing, Jack set Rhys down and fixed his grip on the assault rifle.

“ _Don’t kill him_ ,” this made Jack hesitate, the safety already turned off in preparation to shoot. “ _He isn’t a threat and even though you don’t like me following protocol, Protocol 678 states that no innocents or friendlies are to be harmed willingly,_ ” Jack just snorted in reply, readying himself. _“Please?_ ” This made him stop.

Rhys sounded so sincere for being just an AI and sincerity was something hard to find nowadays. Everyone was so cutthroat and just wanted money. Pushing away all logical thoughts, Jack stepped out from hiding with both hands up in surrender. The nerd hesitated again, taking a step back when Jack reached into his back pocket and held up his ID.

“Oh, so- sorry sir,” sir? This was an interesting change. Jack kept holding his hands up, watching him adjust his green lensed glasses and awkwardly shift around. “I didn’t mean to pull a gun on you, sir. You can understand with the whole... Situation going on, right?” Slowly, the gun was lowered and holstered away. It would be so easy to just shoot the guy and walk away as if nothing happened. The only problem that held Jack back from pulling the trigger was Rhys. For some reason, that goddamn AI knew how to mess with his head. Before it was tolerable, but now it was ticking him off. “Sir?”

“Name,” Jack lowered the assault rifle and let it hang by his side, taking note of the relieved sigh Rhys let out. He kept his eyes trained on the shorter man who obviously didn’t know what to say. “C’mon princess I don’t have all day.”

“V- Vaughn, sir!” At this point, all that was missing is a salute. Jack rolled his eyes and turned towards Rhys, kneeling down and making sure the bot still would follow him. This was confirmed when the metal arm was held out as if expecting to be led, the programmer’s jaw tightening. As he took hold of the metal hand Jack had to remind himself that _this_ was the very reason why he hated AI’s so much;

They were always just so bossy no matter how submissive you made their coding. “Is that a CL4P-TP model?” Vaughn’s curious voice interrupted Jack’s thoughts, the man now standing a bit too close for comfort. He messed with his glasses and leaned forward a bit. “What happened to it’s eye?”

“ _No idea. I found the thing like this and now I’m blind,_ ” Rhys answered back and surprised both men for two different reasons; his calm, friendly voice for Jack who was so used to his snarky attitude and for Vaughn the fact that the CL4P-TP model was speaking out of it’s coded lines and didn’t have the overly annoying voice was enough to send his mind reeling. “ _You're an accountant here, right? Nice to see not all Hyperion workers are dicks,_ ” Vaughn swallowed and his eyes seemed to glimmer with curiosity. “ _My name is Rhys, by the way. I’m Jack’s Personal AI._ ”

“When did that-”

“Oh! I’ve actually never been able to meet one myself,” Vaughn kneeled down, Rhys releasing Jack’s hand and wheeling towards the accountant’s voice. “Personal AI’s are usually for the higher ups. Sooo… Are you always in a CL4P-TP model?”

* * *

 

It’s felt like a millennial since Jack ended up walking with two idiots. Rhys decided that Vaughn was better company than the man who was higher up on the Hyperion food chain (but treated worse than skag shit) and ignored anything Jack said. The two walked hand in hand (literally Rhys would not let go of Vaughn’s hand) and bounced questions off each other. Their questions at time could be meaningful like ‘how much money does Hyperion gain from certain sales’ and then other times there were questions like ‘why don’t CL4P-TP units have thumbs’ and made Jack question his sanity.

Jack was witnessing Dumb and Dumber at their finest with a front row seat.

Their conversation finally ended when the three stumbled upon two Dahl soldiers. The soldiers were surprised by their presence and that gave Jack his chance, shooting the two before either could pull their guns out. Both fell relatively slow, Jack stepping towards the dead bodies with fire in his eyes. He proceeded to fill their dead corpses with lead, taking his anger from the past events out on the two unlucky men. For a second Jack stopped, peeking over his shoulder towards the other two.

Rhys and Vaughn were finally silent, the nerd looking like he wanted to vomit and Rhys not moving. Turning back towards the bodies, Jack walked over to the taller corpse and slammed his boot down on his head. Over and over again he slammed his foot down, the adrenaline blinding him. Killing people was just so riveting.

“Stupid stupid stupid stupid _stupid_!” He screamed the last word, a satisfying crack echoing through the deserted halls. Jack finished his attack with muttered curse, mismatched eyes blazing with unreleased fury. Slicking a hand back through his messy hair that needed a proper wash, Jack turned towards the two with a cold stare. “What are you two pussies staring at? Let’s go!” Without waiting for a reply, Jack kicked his bloody boot on the skull cracked soldier's uniform and began walking.

“I think I’m gonna be sick,” Vaughn whispered a bit too loudly down towards Rhys. “A- actually yeah I- I’ll be right back.” He rushed off towards a trash bin and Jack continued to storm off, closing his eyes tightly in an attempt of blocking out the pitiful sound of Vaughn vomiting.

“ _Jack, you know that was unnecessary,_ ” Rhys’s voice brought Jack back down to reality, his voice sounding vaguely familiar to the first voice Jack heard after plugging the flash drive in; blank and empty. There was a hint of disappointment somewhere in there too. “ _You got Vaughn sick-_ ”

“So what? _I_ followed your stupid protocol by killing hostiles, you didn’t see what I did, and who gives a flying shit about the shrimp?” Jack didn’t mean for his reply to come out so hostile, but it did and there was no going back. “I should’ve just killed him when I had the chance.”

“ _You know what? Fuck you, Jack,_ ” the hostile tone was returned, Rhys almost growling. “ _Just because I’m an AI doesn’t mean I don’t have emotions_.”

“Yeah, well, the emotions you do have are just fake,” he couldn’t understand what was coming over him. Just an hour ago he was talking with the AI like he was a real person and finding comfort, but now they were arguing. “So how about this? I _command_ you to shut the fuck up and stop _whining_!” Jack spun around on his heel and faced Rhys who had abruptly stopped moving.

“ _Understood, sir._ ” And that was it. Rhys drove right past Jack, not even caring when he drove right into a wall and would keep on moving. Vaughn was stumbling over from the trash can, face pale and wiping traces of vomit off his mouth. He gave the programmer a quick look then sped up, following after Rhys who was pulling up an ECHOmap.

Running a hand back through his hair, Jack trailed after the two with cluttered thoughts. He kind of wished they would reach the Western Side faster so he could hand Rhys over to his boss and just forget about him. Another part of him wished he wasn’t so prideful and would just apologize for his outburst.

Shaking his head, Jack kept quiet and tried clearing his thoughts. The three kept walking in a tension filled silence; Vaughn keeping towards the walls in fear and avoiding any sort of eye contact with the two, Rhys leading them through the halls and occasionally bumping into things, Jack dwelling over his own thoughts and trying to cover his guilt up with made up excuses, and the two dead bodies left in their wake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> eyyy can't have a good fic without some angst *finger guns* and this is just the beginning of it all!  
> also, thank you for any kudos/comments! you guys are awesome!
> 
> also here's my tumblr for y'all who wanna ask me sum questions or just stalk me, yah stalkers:  
> [TheHobbitSenpai](http://thehobbitsenpai.tumblr.com/)


	5. Talking's Hard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack hasn't been the best at apologizing and he doesn't plan on learning how anytime soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i guess you could say this is more or less a filler chapter? i promise things get better from here, but i just had to tie up some loose ends lol  
> also!! thank you all for the kudos/hits/comments!! i really never expected this fic to really get so much attention and every time i see a new notification it really just makes my day. so thank you all!!!

How do you apologize to an AI that is  _ obviously _ in the wrong? That was the current question weighing down on Jack. Dragging his legs forward, the programmer begrudgingly followed the CL4P-TP unit without uttering a single word. Ever since the argument, neither of the two had bother apologizing or making any move to apologize. Vaughn didn’t even think of stepping in and that left Jack on his own. 

Usually apologizing for someone without actually saying the words ‘I’m sorry’ was easy. He’d buy some flowers or take the person out and things would fix themselves that way. But apologizing to Rhys, a stubborn as fuck AI, was next to impossible. How do you please artificial intelligence? Running a hand back through his hair and letting out a sigh Jack decided he finally had enough. He stopped walking, crossed his arms, and waited. 

Vaughn, who had been following from behind, almost walked into him and quickly stumbled around his boss. Rhys stopped walking as well, keeping his back towards the group. If Rhys expected him to speak first he was sorely mistaken. Vaughn stood between the two, his gaze shifting between them and foot lightly tapping on the ground.

“Is one of you going to speak or..?” He finally asked the question that weighed on all their minds, Jack scoffing at it and busying himself by messing with his gun. Rhys also didn’t reply and instead started moving again. “Where are you go-”

“ _ I’m getting myself an eye so I can see Jack’s bullshit _ .” Rhys answered before Vaughn could finish questioning him. Oh, Jack regretted lifting his command off the AI. Grumbling something along the lines of ‘dumb ass artificial intelligence’ and putting the safety back on his gun, Jack followed after Rhys which left Vaughn standing there wide eyed. The accountant soon caught on and scrambled after the two, weary when they entered the ruined section of Helios.

Shot out lights hung from the ceiling and there was debris lying around, dead bodies of Hyperion and Dahl alike lying around the halls under cement or leaning against the glass windows. Blood was splattered everywhere; on windows, on the floor, on the ceiling, on planters- Jack couldn’t look anywhere without seeing blood. His nose started scrunching up from the metallic smell it gave off. Peeking out a nearby window, Jack stared out into space and slowed his stride down. He remembered how excited Angel was on her first space shuttle, eyes twinkling and lips quirked up into a happy smile, and Jack wondered if Rhys would act like that when he could see- he shook the thought out of his head. 

Jack was supposed to be  _ angry _ at Rhys not wondering what he would think when he saw the beautiful expanse of space. Pocketing his hands, the three turned another corner and stopped by a door that led outside. Beside the door switch was a red CL4P-TP hunched over and twitching, sparks flying off it’s shot out body and bullet wounds littering it’s shell. Rhys by it’s side blindly patting around for the eye. Jack stepped over beside Rhys, looking over the CL4P-TP that’s voice box had broken and kept repeating the same sentence.

“ _ He- he- hel- help. Op- ope- open do- door. Es- es- escape. He- he- hel- help. Op- ope- open do- door. Es- es- escape _ -” he couldn’t take it anymore. Lifting his gun up, Jack shot the bot and ended it’s misery. Rhys’s quiet mutter of ‘thank you’ didn’t go unnoticed, his hands soon finding the eye and starting to remove it.

“ _ I need you to plug it in for me _ .” Rhys told Jack when the piece was fully removed, making sure the wires were still all intact. Vaughn was checking out the windows in case someone passed by, constantly peeking back towards the two in case they decided to try killing each other.

“Oh, so now you need my help,” Jack rolled his eyes but knelt down anyways. He placed his hand behind Rhys to tug him forward, taking the lifeless eye as well. “You’re a complicated man, Rhysie.” He commented, ignoring the stinging feeling the ripped wires gave him as he dug into Rhys’s eye port.

“ _ I’m an AI and I’m made from codes. Did you expect me to be simple _ ?” He let out what sounded like a chuckle and the sound sent shivers down Jack’s spine. “ _ And why does it matter how complicated I am? My personality is fake anyways _ .” That stung him literally and figuratively. Jack sharply pulled his hand back to suck on his finger that got electrocuted by an exposed wire, the programmer narrowing his eyes towards the AI. Shaking his head, he went back to work.

“Your personality isn’t fake it’s- you're the kind of different I can’t explain. As for  _ why _ I said what I said it was in the heat of the moment and I was angry. I’m under a lotta pressure ‘ere kiddo and- move a bit towards your right for me- I’ve found killing people calms me down. Kinda therapeutic,” Jack mused, tucking a few wires into the eye port and making sure everything was connected. “With Dahl invading, Tassiter on my ass, worrying about my daughter, and now dealing with a foreign AI I just let my emotions control me I guess.”

“ _ If this is your way of apologizing it’s a pretty sad way _ ,” Rhys snorted, Jack narrowing his eyes and tugging on a wire. “ _ Ow! Ok, I deserved that _ ,” he whined, a hand brought up and rubbing against the top of his head. “ _ But I forgive you _ .”

“What? For electrocuting you? I did that on purpose so I don’t need forgiveness,” Jack chuckled, pushing the new eye into place and accidentally smearing some oil on his cheek when he tried scratching himself. “How’s it look?”

“ _ I forgive you for losing your temper _ ,” he elaborated and moved a bit closer, blinking ever so slightly. “ _ And now that I can see you up close wow, _ ” that fueled Jack’s ego, his lips curling into a smirk. “ _ You really are an asshole. _ ”

“Fuck you, Rhys,” his eyes narrowed into a glare and his smirk turned into a frown, Jack standing up. Glancing towards Vaughn who was reading something off his glasses lens, he pulled his echo out and pulled up the map. “We’ve got just over a half hour before power shuts down. Let’s start heading out,” Jack pocketing his echo and started walking, stopping momentarily when his hand got tugged. Rhys drove up beside him, clutching onto his hand and eye flicking up towards him.

When Jack didn’t pull away the AI started driving again, Jack speechlessly following along and Vaughn trailing behind the two. The accountant let out a long sigh that caught Jack’s attention, the older man peeking over towards him. “What?”

“You two are such a soap opera couple.” Vaughn admitted, running a hand back through his hair and giving Jack an exhausted look.

“ _ What’s a soap opera couple? Should I ask the echonet _ ?” Rhys piped up, Jack and Vaughn speaking in unison.

“No! Don’t do that!” The two shared a short glare, obviously not a fan of speaking at the same time. A brief moment of silence settled over them all before it was replaced with a loud gasp. Jack felt his hand get tugged towards his side, the programmer watching Rhys press himself against a window and stare out into space. He really was right; Rhys loved space.

“ _ This is so _ …” His sentence trailed off, Vaughn standing on Rhys’s right with crossed arms and Jack standing on Rhys’s left with a small smile. “ _ Is it always like this _ ?” Jack felt his hand get tugged making him know the question was directed towards him.

“Uh, yeah? Space doesn’t really change that much,” Jack might be a genius in like everything, but space stuff wasn’t his forte. Maybe he could find some astrologists for Rhys. “At least I don’t think so.”

“ _ Cool _ .” His shitty answer seemed to be all Rhys needed because he turned his focus back towards space. Temporarily Jack forget the situation he was in, placing a hand on the glass and staring at his own reflection. Mismatched eyes stared back at him, both eyes reflecting just how exhausted he really was and all the inner battles he was holding with himself. 

Jack rubbed his thumb over his reflected cheek, taking note of the blood and oil smears that would take some time to wash off. He took one last look before turning his attention down towards Rhys. The CL4P-TP bot stood there staring out into the expanse, the new eye twinkling with reflected stars. Jack wondered how Rhys would look with a body, wondering if the AI would have some dumb awestruck smile on his face. Turning back towards the view, he tightened his grip on Rhys’s hand and a peaceful silence took over the three.

“So… Am I going to keep babysitting you two when you get into arguments or..?”

“Vaughn, shut the fuck up before I shoot you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got questions about the AU? Ideas to mention/request? Wanna talk this nerd? Hit me up over at [TheHobbitSenpai](http://thehobbitsenpai.tumblr.com/)


	6. Sacrifices

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In every story, sacrifices are to be made from heroes and friends alike.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what's this? a double update?

It had all happened so fast. One moment Jack was holding hands with Rhys through the halls talking about Hyperion’s history or complaining with Vaughn about Helios’s food and then in the next moment the entire space station was shuddering. Grasping onto a nearby pipe, Jack crouched down with Rhys held close to his chest.

When the shaking stopped an explosion went off nearby, the debris from the hit flying all around the down. Jack let out a hiss when some glass cut into his cheek, blood trickling down from it. A few nearby crates started being pulled around the corner towards the blast, so Jack and Vaughn started climbing the opposite way.

“What the hell was that?” Vaughn questioned, sitting behind a crate and pulling something up on his glasses. Jack noticed his eyes go wide and start typing things away on his echo, the programmer using this moment to check over Rhys. From what he could see the AI suffered no damage and was just shaken up, his wheel and arms concealed in the shell. Sighing, Jack tugged Rhys against his chest to try and comfort him. “U- uh, Jack?”

“What?” He peered over the bot’s head to stare at Vaughn’s echo. His eyes widened when he saw a blueprint of Helios being projected from the echo. Along the entire Western Side were red dots from blasts and attacks. Jack brought his attention away from the projection when his own echo started ringing. He quickly answered and started glaring when he saw Claptrap.

“Hello, sir! Just checking in with-” the annoying bot was cut off when something must’ve struck them. He dropped the echo and Jack could see something bright hitting Elpis.

“What the… What is that?” Athena’s voice sounded far away compared to the other loud exclamations beside the echo device.

“Oh jeez! Uh, Jack, is- is everything going ok up there?” Timothy was kneeling down by the cliff’s edge, a bubble around his head and hand patting around for the device. Cursing under his breath, Jack stood up and started running with Vaughn trailing behind.

“Yeah, I’ll- uh- get back with you guys,” he dumbly said and hung up, tossing the echo over that hopefully was caught and kept running. “Hey, I know you're scared and all but I do need you to start working with me here,” Jack tapped the top of Rhys’s head. When Rhys’s eye flicked upwards he started talking again. “Run a scan over Helios and find me an empty office. I’m getting us off of here.” He skidded to a stop when he saw Dahl soldiers in the distance.

“Wait, we’re leaving?” Vaughn hissed out, pressing himself around a corner when Jack started shooting. “What about the others- and Helios! We can’t just leave!”

“Stop whining, princess.” Jack fired off a couple more shots towards the intruders. He started moving again when the soldiers were split up from all the shooting.

“ _Take a hard left and enter through the closest door._ ” Rushing through the disorganized group, Jack followed Rhys’s directions. He left Vaughn enter the stranded office first, backing him up with cover fire and then entering. Slamming his back on the door to keep it shut, Rhys hopped out of his arms and raced over towards the desk while Vaughn was bent over trying to catch his breath.

“Rhys, what are you doing?”

“ _I’m reinstalling myself into Hyperion’s systems_ ,” he answered after some time. “ _Vaughn, come over here for a_ _second_ ," Vaughn gave Jack a glance and mouthed an ‘I’m sorry’ before scurrying over. Jack opened his mouth to yell at the two but got cut off when something rammed against the door on the other side. “ _Hold this for me_ ,” Rhys was busy typing away on the keyboard, a cord being held out for him to hold. “ _Jack, hold the door for just a little longer_.”

“You better hope your sorry ass this works,” Jack growled back, laughing when the person rammed into the door. “That all you got? Hell, my grandmother could do better than that!” He yelled towards the Dahl soldiers on the other side. His cocky attitude dropped when Rhys started screaming, worriedly glancing over. Jack watched the CL4P-TP fall over and the light in the eye disappear, all the monitors in the room being overtaken by lines of blue code. “Rhys, you still there?”

“ _Ye- yeah, sorry. There is just so much code here and- wow,_ ” Rhys sounded breathless when he replied back, his voice coming from the speakers in the room. “ _I guess the computer system I hacked into was owned by a man named ‘Richard Johnson.’ He seems to be high up on the Hyperion chain so I have access to almost everything. You’ll also wanna step away from the door_ ,” without questioning Rhys, Jack stepped away from the door with his gun raised. It soon came breaking down after another hit.

Luckily, Jack was ready and started firing when the door broke. Over his shoulder Vaughn shot a few soldiers off with his pistol, standing up on the desk for height advantage. “ _I’ve found an escape pod you two can use to get off. It’s not far from here_.”

“I thought you said all the escape pods were gone?” All five Dahl soldiers laid on the floor dead, Jack taking any ammo clips he could find and rushed off. Vaughn was close on his trail, hooking what looked to be an Oz kit onto his shoulder. “You're still with us, right?”

“ _Yup! And the escape pod I’ve found is actually a Dahl ship, but it still works_ , ” the AI still was heard through the speakers and Jack smirked. It felt good knowing he literally had someone on the inside. Following the map Vaughn had on his echo, the two reached the spaceship in minutes. Boarding the ship was easy being that there were no guards. Vaughn was already climbing into the cockpit, Jack sticking to the outside with his gun ready. “ _Jack_?”

“Yes, pumpkin?”

“ _Do me a favor and walk down the hall_ ?” Choosing to just follow directions, Jack listened to Rhys’s voice until he reached the five corpses from before. “ _The shortest one should have an echo_ ,” in the front breast pocket as a bloody echo that Jack tugged out, wiping the blood off as much as he could. “ _Keep that on you just in case I- shit, multiple enemies detached. You need to leave like now_.”

“Just in case you what?” Jack booked it towards the ship and tried keeping his head low when he heard shooting from behind. A few bullets shot past his face and one scraped against his neck, cutting the skin. “Rhys, what are you planning?” He yelled, hopping inside the cargo bay and hissing when his back hit the ground. Sitting up, Jack flipped the safety off his rifle and got ready. When the first soldier came into view Jack pulled the trigger, killing him but giving away their position. “Rhys!”

Jack screamed when a laser hit his hip. He ducked his head down with both hands pressing against the bloody wound. Glancing back up, Jack watched the cargo bay doors start closing in preparation to leave.

“Vaughn, stop! We’re leaving Rhys behind!” Frantically, Jack was trying to stop his bleeding and he could feel his head start going light.

“Jack, I can’t I’m sorry!” Vaughn’s scared voice came through the speakers in the ship, a few thrusters on the ship turning on.

“ _Jack… I’m sorry. Sacrifices have to be made_ ,” Rhys apologized, his voice sounding a bit choked up. “ _Save Elpis for me, will you_?” That’s when the door finally closed and the ship left, Jack watching Helios grow further and further away through a window. He laid back on the floor, blood spilling out onto his hands and vision going blurry.

“No…” Jack shook his head, refusing to believe they just left Rhys behind. “Rhys…” Closing both eyes tightly, Jack started counting down from ten in hopes that when his eyes would reopen this would all just be some shitty dream. But he never reopened his eyes and instead passed out on the floor, the blood loss making him lose consciousness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaand here's the cliff hanger! if you thought the fic was over you are wrong because it's actually just starting! strap yourselves in because it's going to be a long ride from here on out!  
> i would also like to take this time to personally thank you all for the kudos/hits/comments! they really brighten my day!
> 
> Got questions about the AU? Ideas to mention/request? Wanna talk this nerd? Hit me up over at [Link TheHobbitSenpai](http://thehobbitsenpai.tumblr.com/)


	7. The Awakening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No one expected him to wake up and were preparing for the worst. The man on the echo thought otherwise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *finger guns*

Athena walked into Nurse Nina’s office just like she had done two days prior; with her nose scrunched up, hood being tugged down, and reloading her pistol. Wilhelm and Claptrap, from what she could see, had yet to return from their latest job but she couldn’t really blame them. With Claptrap inability to shut up and Wilhelm’s impatience, the two most likely got into a duel. She made a mental note that if they weren’t back before she finished checking up she’d go look for them herself.

Timothy was sitting by the closed curtain with both hands grasping his knees, body hunched over and chin resting on an open palm. His mismatched eyes flicked over to Athena when she entered, the doppelganger giving her a forced smile that failed to hide his exhaustion. The only one in the room who looked the least bit happy was Nisha. She was sitting backward on the chair to show Vaughn how her dual pistols worked. Vaughn just watched her spin the weapons around and shoot a bottle off the shelf on the other side of the room.

Her shot made Nurse Nina looked away from her work, peeking over the curtain. Timothy quickly started apologizing for the fidgeting woman, letting out a long sigh when the nurse went back to work. There was a white curtain tugged around the surgery table, blocking her view from Jack who was getting stitched up. After making her scan about the room Athena ended Nisha’s demonstration with Vaughn short when she noticed her start aiming towards him. As if reading Athena’s mind Nisha had rolled her eyes, tilted her cowboy hat down and started bugging Timothy.

“Is he still alive?” When she got a long, exasperated sigh in reply from Timothy Athena knew the answer. Ever since Jack was brought in here he’s been unconscious. Athena was already preparing for the worst, but both Vaughn and Timothy were clinging onto some sort of hope. Taking the seat beside Vaughn, the gladiator decided that the group didn’t have any more time to wait. She had been patient like Timothy asked her to be, but Helios was being invaded and they didn’t have the time for waiting. “What were you two doing on that ship?”

“Es- escaping Helios,” Vaughn stuttered out the obvious, refusing any sort of eye contact in fear that one wrong look and she’d smash his skull open with her shield. Athena knew this and it made her lips quirk up into a faint smirk. As if she would taint her shield with his brains. Most likely if he really was the reason why her boss was so fucked up she’d pass him onto Nisha. The woman seemed interested in him enough. “We- we were being ov- overrun by Dahl soldiers so we took o- one of their ships.”

“Now you’ve got my attention,” Nisha scooted her chair closer to the two and pushed her hat up. “So, how does it feel knowing that Dahl is gonna destroy your home? You know I miss home sometimes,” for a second Athena wondered if Nisha, the one woman she knew that could maybe take her on in a fight, was being sympathetic. “Then I remember not to be a dumbass and shoot something.” But then Athena reminded herself this was the same women who kills puppies and laughs.

“Can we please stop terrorizing him,” Timothy said more than asked and tilted his head back against the chair he had been sitting in for hours now. She knew that if Jack didn’t make it out of here alive Timothy would be forced back onto Helios and she didn’t want to know what those freaky scientists would do to him. “Let’s just… Wait until Jack wakes up?” He suggested and started to massage his forehead.

“Alright,” Athena agreed and stood up. “I’m going to go see what’s holding Wilhelm and Claptrap up,“ she announced, already walking towards the exit. Nisha gave her a quick ‘see ya,’ Vaughn nodded towards her, and Timothy did a two fingered salute her way. Before she could leave the room an echo in the room started ringing, everyone looking towards the bloody Dahl echo that laid on a tray. Nurse Nina peered over the curtain towards the echo, noticing that it wasn’t her’s and went back to work.

Timothy, who had been the closest, grabbed the echo and held it in trembling hands. “Answer it.” The gladiator stepped over with her pistol drawn, ready to shoot the device in case it was being hacked. Sucking in a shaky breath, the doppelganger pressed the answer button.

“ _ Jack _ ?” Vaughn lurched forward when he heard the voice and snatched the echo away from Timothy, but even he didn’t expect the face that was projected out. Hovering just above the device was the face of a man. “ _ Vaughn! Thank Elpis you're alive! Where’s Jack _ ?” The person started looking about the room for Jack, landing on a very wide eyed Timothy. “ _ I never knew he had a twin. Well, I don’t really know much about Jack so that’s partly my fault. _ ” He chuckled to himself.

“How did you-” Timothy’s question was stopped from being asked when Athena clamped a hand over his mouth.

“Who the hell are you?” She asked, narrowing her eyes towards the echo. The man on the echo turned towards her direction “ _ What _ the hell are you?” Athena re-asked her question. Everyone watched the man raise a cybernetic hand up and brush back through his slightly curled strands. That’s when both his brown eyes started widening.

“ _ Wait, where’s Jack? _ ” Both of his eyes started to frantically look around the room. He was stopped when Athena aimed the pistol towards the echo again, Timothy quickly dropping it down on the chair and jumping away so he wouldn’t be shot.

“Answer my question.” Athena kept her voice calm to mask her fear. They all knew how big of a target Jack was even if he was a lowly programmer. This thing on the echo could be trying to manipulate them into showing him Jack and then send people to their location. She couldn’t risk it. Nisha was grinning now, finding this all very amusing while confusion was written all over Vaughn’s face.

“ _ My name is Rhys. I’m an AI and Jack is my Activator, _ ” his voice was oddly calm despite having a gun literally pointed towards him. Athena still didn’t falter at his words, processing what she had been told. “ _ Where is Jack? _ ”

“He’s getting surgery,” Vaughn spoke up and Athena glared towards him. He picked up the Dahl echo with a hesitant smile, Rhys returning the smile towards him. “He’s…” He trailed off, lensed eyes flicking towards the curtain that blocked everyone’s view. “He’s been unconscious for almost three days now,” the smile on Rhys’s face dropped, Vaughn sitting down on the free chair. “But where did the face come from? And- and the hand! You were in a CL4P-TP model on Helios, Rhys! How did you-”

“ _ Show me Jack, _ ” Rhys cut him off, shaking his head slightly. “ _ I’m sorry, Vaughn, but I need to talk with Jack. _ ”

“Didn’t you hear him? Jack is unconscious,” Nisha spoke slowly and her yellow eyes were staring over Vaughn’s shoulder at Rhys. The two stared at each other for a long while. “He might not make it out.” She started smirking, deciding that Vaughn was too easy of a target for her torture and that this new AI might be a better victim. Rhys didn’t bite.

“ _ And what would a bandit know? _ ” He countered with venom in his words, Timothy choking on his own saliva. The doppelganger quickly looked away so the short tempered woman didn’t see him quietly laugh.

“I can see Jack’s been rubbing off on you,” she said through gritted teeth. Athena was tempted to step in, but then again seeing Nisha get angered by an AI of all things was pretty entertaining. The two continued glaring towards each other with tension flying between them until Vaughn stood up. “What are you doing?”

“I’m just gonna show him Jack. Rhys  _ is _ the reason why we got out of there alive. It’s the least I can do.” Athena knew that this was Vaughn’s way of saying ‘I don’t want you to shoot him’ and didn’t butt in. No matter how worried or hesitant she was it wouldn’t matter. The three watched the accountant push through the curtain, talking to Nurse Nina a bit and let the cloth fall slack.

Vaughn sat down on the chair beside the cot, the Dahl echo resting on his lap and glasses being removed. Sometimes Rhys would question Nurse Nina about Jack’s condition. What Vaughn didn’t expect was when Rhys started to add his own suggestions then go and say ‘I got them off the echonet’ when she questioned him. It surprised him even  _ more _ because Nurse Nina agreed with what the AI said.

“Rhys,” he started speaking, slipping his cracked glasses back on. “You confuse me so much, bro.”

“ _ I’ve been told I’m pretty complicated, _ ” Rhys chuckled, but the noise was short lived and his eyes flicked away as if he had just remembered something. “ _ Jack told me that… _ ”

“You two seem close,” Vaughn commented. “Did Jack create you?” It was common knowledge around Helios how skilled Jack was in programming even if he held one of the lower positions in the food chain. He wouldn’t be surprised if one day Jack got too tired of dealing with all his work and decided to create an AI to pin it on. Jack seemed like the kind of person to do that.

“ _ No, but he activated me, _ ” this was not Vaughn expected in an answer. “ _ I don’t really know where I come from or who made me. Jack was just there for me, _ ” his eyes were directed downwards towards the floorboards. From behind the curtain, Vaughn could hear a door closing and someone- most likely Nisha- yelling a ‘goodbye.’ Peeking over the cloth, the accountant soon realized it was only him and Nurse Nina left in the room. “ _ I kinda wish I never got a personality. _ ”

“Why?”

“ _ So I wouldn’t feel so damn worried, _ ” now it was Vaughn’s turn to chuckle. Rhys’s worry made him remember just how he was worried when Dahl first started invading Helios and he couldn’t find Yvette. He shifted around a bit when his leg fell asleep. “ _ Do you think he’ll laugh at me? _ ”

“Why would you think that?” He couldn’t really say ‘no’ because Jack is the guy who crushed a dude’s skull in and had an ego bigger than Elpis. But it didn’t mean Vaughn couldn’t be curious. Rhys let out a sigh and ran a hand back through his hair.

“ _ I don’t know, _ ” silence fell over the room with it only being broken by the sound of Nurse Nina’s tools. The nurse finished her work in a few more minutes and left to take care of some more patients. Vaughn nudged the chair closer at Rhys’s wish, the AI’s brown eyes looking over Jack’s unconscious form once more. “ _ I wish he’d wake up. It’s too quiet without him bragging, _ ” Rhys murmured quietly as if thinking Vaughn wouldn’t hear. So, Vaughn pretended like he didn’t.

The minutes turned into hours and the two broke the silence by chatting. Currently, the two were playing ‘who would win a fight’ and Vaughn thought that a Badass Scav could most definitely defeat three Fragtraps, but Rhys thought otherwise. Their chat was cut short when a groan rose from the injured man lying just an arm’s length away, Rhys’s eyes going wide and his head turning.

Jack was stiff and his eyes were closed just like they had been hours ago. “ _ Jack? _ ” He asked quietly. It was as if something went off inside the programmer because his hand twitched. Vaughn set Rhys down on the chair and left for Nurse Nina, but before he departed something left the AI. “ _ I’m sorry… _ ” Once again Vaughn pretended he didn’t hear anything, rushing towards the nurse with his brain reeling for answers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i would also like to take this time to personally thank you all for the kudos/hits/comments! they really brighten my day!
> 
> Got questions about the AU? Ideas to mention/request? Wanna talk this nerd? Hit me up over at [TheHobbitSenpai](http://thehobbitsenpai.tumblr.com)


	8. Readable Faces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The bonding moments between Rhys and Jack just keep on stacking up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys! I can't believe this fic has reached 400+ hits and 60+ kudos! Holy shit! I'm just... Thank you, everyone, so much I really can't explain how thankful I am even if it doesn't seem like much. It means everything to me!! <3  
> But anyways, enjoy! :) (prepare for the beginning of the pinning)

Being bedridden was not as nice as it sounded. Jack learned this the hard way. Ever since he woke up to Vaughn’s loud ass snoring and Claptrap making a literal card mansion the man has been stuck in bed. Sure, he had the Vault Hunters going out doing missions for him and Rhys would pull up the echonet, but it just wasn’t the same. His body was itching to just move- to do  _ something _ other than lying still. The only thing Jack really could do was order people around through an echo and internally scream about the fact that a Dahl created weapon program has a face.

Jack himself has seen AI’s with faces- it wasn’t an uncommon occurrence. Usually, the artificial intelligence with some sort of appearance had been modeled after a real person or programmed a certain way. But Rhys- Rhys was just so human. It was hard enough going through Helios listening to the man’s voice alone and now here he was face-to-face with this pretty ass kid who was self-conscious over his own appearance. Shit, Rhys was literally hitting all the standards Jack didn’t even know he had in the first place. Bringing an arm up to drape over his eyes, Jack let out a loud groan.

“ _ Are you alright? Do you need me to grab Nurse Nina _ ?” And of course the one time Jack even thinks for a second he is alone Rhys comes to life. Dropping his arm, the programmer turned his head onto its side and stared. Vaughn had left an hour ago to properly explore Concordia, rambling on about something like ‘I wanna check out some stores’ or some nerdy shit before leaving. He had left the Dahl echo Rhys was using to communicate with them on his chair. Now Rhys hovered there, both of those big brown eyes looking in Jack’s direction filled with worry.

“No, I’m fine,” he grumbled through gritted teeth and looked away. Jack decided that if this AI thought he could hit all of Jack’s recently created standards and make him feel like a teenage schoolgirl then he’d be an asshole. Which, in all honesty, really wasn’t hard. “Don’t you have anything better to do?”

“ _ Um, no _ ?  _ Unless you have something for me _ ,” Rhys said patiently and Jack had to fight back the urge to look at him. “ _ Well _ -”

“What?” Jack stole a glance towards Rhys. The AI was messing with his hair, running his flesh hand through the dark strands.

“ _ Did you want to try walking _ ?” That was something he did not expect. Out of everyone, Rhys had been fretting over his well-being the most like some worried mother (next in line being Timothy, but the kid only wanted his pay). So when Rhys suggested this Jack was left speechless and, yet again, Rhys had done the one thing many people thrived to do. “Just to the chair at least.”

“What makes you think I’d want to?” Even if the suggestion was exactly what Jack had been dying to do he wouldn’t let Rhys know that so easily. He already decided to stubborn and Jack would be damned if you let Rhys got the upper hand again-

“ _ You’ve been sighing and groaning for the past hour since Vaughn left and you look like you wanna strangle me _ ,” dammit he let him get the upper hand again. When Jack looked over there was a dumb smile stretched across Rhys’s face. He couldn’t help wondering if that same smile would’ve been there when he saw space for the first time. “Just take your time-”

“Yeah yeah I know what I’m doing, pumpkin. Just sit there and let me do the magic,” Jack watched Rhys roll his eyes but never lose the smile. Sucking in a deep breath, he curled both hands into the sheets and started sitting up. Ok, he could sit up. He started to try evening his breathing out before doing anything drastic. After losing his temper on Claptrap after the bot had tried flirting with some machine in the room Jack discovered that if his breathing got too labored then his hip injury would start freaking out.

Now came the hard part. Carefully- just like back home when Angel left her toys around his bed- Jack swung a leg over the edge and dropped one foot down on the floorboards. The cold sensation from the wood sent shivers through his entire body, but at least he was feeling something other than metal springs pressing into his back. Dropping another foot onto the ground, Jack sat on the cot’s edge with both bare feet pressed on the floor and body directed towards the chair. When he looked up there was Rhys’s smiling face, eyebrows raised ever-so-slightly. The distance from the chair to the bed was short- just a few footsteps- so Jack was overconfident in proving to Rhys that he was a fucking miracle maker. 

He used all his arm’s strength to push his body off the cot, but didn’t account for his legs and fell back onto the bed. A loud snort of amusement came from Rhys who now had his cybernetic hand pressed against his mouth to stifle his laughter. “Shut it, Rhysie.”

“ _ Yes, Jackie _ ,” Rhys teased, a few giggles slipping past his hand. Jack narrowed both eyes and lifted himself off the bed with newfound energy. Then he realized what he had just done and went stiff. Both arms were horizontal to balance himself out, a lump in his throat being swallowed away. “ _ Hey, Jack _ ?” Jack just gave the AI a slight nod and stuck his tongue out slightly in concentration, taking one small step forward. “ _ Do you… Remember anything before fully waking up? Like when you were being treated on _ ?”

“No, why?” He really couldn’t care less about what Rhys was trying to figure out here. Right now all he cared about was reaching the chair to prove the brat wrong.

“ _ Ok. I was just curious _ .” His voice sounded oddly sad despite the calm look on his face, but then Jack noticed his eyebrows furrow a bit.

“Actually, I do remember something.” Jack was lying now.

“ _ Really? What _ ?” Rhys’s eyes had gone a bit wider and he started laughing when Jack took another step and swayed around.

“I remember that you need to keep your emotions in check. Seriously, kiddo, your face reveals everything,” the man let out a little snort followed by another step forward. Unable to take the slowness of it all, Jack rushed the next couple of steps and barely caught himself on the chair’s back so he wouldn’t fall over. Rhys wasn’t even looking at him, eyes downcast. “What? Did I hurt your little feelings?”

“ _ You are such an asshole _ .”

“Yeah, but you love me,” if he could he’d poke Rhys’s silly face. The kid looked so fucking distraught it was hilarious. “Now that I reached the chair wanna try for a real challenge?”

“ _ What _ ?” Rhys looked up and Jack knew the AI wasn’t angry with him. Unlike back up on Helios when he couldn’t read his facial expressions and could only tell what he was feeling through voice Jack could read Rhys like a book. Jack didn’t reply back and instead picked the echo up in his hands. “ _ Ok, where are we going? Are you sure you can handle this much walking _ ?” He started to spin around in circles, trying to figure out what his Activator was doing. Jack slowly walked through the room so he didn’t slip on uncleaned blood puddles or lose balance. 

Surprisingly his body wasn’t reacting badly and his muscles actually started aching from all the movement. It felt good. Stealing some Scav’s boots and removing a jacket off a hanger, Jack pushed a door open and stepped outside into the cold winds of Elpis. He started slipping his arms through the sleeves while balancing Rhys on his knee. “ _ Um, why are we outside? You aren’t planning on running away… Are you _ ?”

“You know, babe, if you weren’t being so damn cute right now I would’ve taken offense,” Jack was struggling so hard with holding back a smirk because the look on Rhys’s face was priceless. A light flush had spread across his pale cheeks and only made his brown eyes stand out more, his flesh hand that had been scratching his neck stopped mid motion and his fingers curled slightly against the smooth skin. “Oh, I’m going to have fun with you now.” The smirk broke through and Rhys caught onto the teasing, letting out a loud groan with both hands covering his bright red face.

“ _ Jack, you are terrible _ .” He mumbled through his hands. Jack let out a chuckle and set Rhys down on the railing.

“Yeah, well, this terrible person just reached the outer circle of Concordia through pure skill.” Jack didn’t even need to look at Rhys to know he was looking around. The low mutter of ‘what’ followed by a loud gasp and a ‘woah’ gave him all he needed. Even Jack was a bit overwhelmed with the beautiful view of space he was an audience to. Up on Helios and the Hyperion spaceship he had been stationed on prior only showed bits and pieces of space. All the windows looked out towards the darkness that swallowed up any stars. But here on Elpis, they had the entire sky to their will.

“ _ What’s that _ ?” Rhys curiously asked, Jack taking a glance over. His eyes were looking through the stars as if searching for answers, lips tugged up into a smile.

“What’s- oh, that,” he followed the AI’s stare and found himself staring at Pandora. “That heap of shit is Pandora. A literal hell hole if you ask me and full of bandit scum.”

“ _ It’s still pretty _ ,” that Jack couldn’t argue against. No matter how dangerous, crazy, and outright terrible Pandora was the exterior was pretty. Leaning against the railing and pushing the slight pain in his head away, the two watched the stars for some time. Occasionally Jack took glances over towards Rhys, unable to comprehend how human he looked and refusing to believe the AI even looked the least bit pretty with how the light fell on his face and how the stars were reflected in his eyes. “ _ Jack _ ?”

“You say my name a lot. I wonder you’ll sound when you scream it.”

“ _ I was going to say you aren’t too much of an asshole, but I was wrong _ ,” and with that, the moment was ruined. Jack doubled over in laughter and even Rhys joined in, the two finding this shitty flirt one of the funniest things in the world and laughing until it literally pained Jack. He slipped a hand through the cloth around his torso and pressed against the bandages that wrapped around his waist. “ _ Is it hurting _ ?” Looking back up, Jack couldn’t understand why he saw guilt on Rhys’s face and this time he didn’t seem to hide it. It was if he wanted Jack to know he felt guilty.

“A bit, but it’s gonna make one badass scar.” He gave the AI a proud smirk that made Rhys smile a bit, but the guilt stayed in his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got questions about the AU? Ideas to mention/request? Wanna talk this nerd? Hit me up over at [TheHobbitSenpai](http://thehobbitsenpai.tumblr.com/)


	9. Puzzle Pieces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack gives Concordia's precious Merrif an overdue visit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahhhh what is this??? an update???  
> also im sorry this one is a bit longer than the previous one. there was just so much dialogue lol  
> also what is with all these comments/kudos? thank you guys so much!!!

Each second that ticked by seemed longer than the last. His eyes constantly kept checking the time and his fingers drummed along his covered kneecap. Rhys and Vaughn’s conversation was just background noise to Jack who was intently focused on the clock. The Vault Hunters had checked in with him so he’d know they found the signal source and were going in to destroy it. That was almost a two hours ago. Jack’s attention was brought away when his hip wound start stinging. He rolled up his yellow shirt and grimace at the bandages.

Although the wound was all healed up the bandages were still there just in case. He let his fingers gingerly rub against the rough cloth, tracing where he knew the scar would be. From what he was told by Nurse Nina it was a contracture scar and looked like a jagged circle. Patting the spot with his thumb, Jack looked towards the other two in the room when Rhys started laughing. Those pale lips were curled up into a smile that seemed to brighten up the bloody room even if it was digital. His brown eyes once so intently focused on Vaughn caught Jack’s staring and turned their attention him instead. Jack flashed a slight smile back towards Rhys without really understanding _why_ he was smiling.

Maybe it was because Rhys’s smiles were just so goddamn contagious or the fact that he looked so happy talking with the nerd. Either way, he was smiling now and this was his life. Vaughn noticed their staring and shook his head, muttering something that made Rhys turn towards him with red cheeks. Jack’s attention was brought towards his personal echo that started buzzing. He quickly answered the call just in time to see Nisha’s face. She had one hand holding her hat down, her other hand grasping the echo, and laughing loudly while in the distance Jack could see Wilhelm shoot someone.

“Hey, Jackie,” Nisha winked at him through the projection and gestured with her head to a relay. “Is this what we needa destroy?”

“Awesome! Yeah! Destroy each of the relays and it’ll destroy the signal!” He was already jumping to his feet, stepping into the new boots Vaughn brought over that morning. Tapping his boots together, Jack wiggled his toes around and grinned.

“Scratch one jamming signal.” She said after shooting the last relay. Jack rushed to the window and watched the lights on Helios start flicking back on. Rhys that morning had been working on the locked down systems to try and back the power. The powercore was still broken and certain things wouldn’t work, but now that the jamming signal was down Jack could restart the fast travel network. It would allow him to personally fix things up on Helios and- things were finally looking up.

“Booyah! We got lights,” he glanced towards Rhys who gave him two thumbs up. “We got security, we got fast-”

“Red? Belly? What the flamin' heck's going on over there?! The override signal just went down!” Jack narrowed his eyes at the new voice that entered their personal channel. All the Vault Hunters seemed surprised as well at this new voice, looking around with guns raised.

“Who the hell _is_ that?” He questioned, Vaughn looking equally confused.

“Sounds like the Merrif.” Athena answered.

“Wait a minute, you aren't Red or Belly... Aww, flip!” The Merrif seemed to have caught on that he was on the wrong channel, letting out a long groan.

“The Meriff's been working for Zarpedon the entire time!” It all made sense now; the sudden lockdown, not letting the Vault Hunters up, knowing Jack was in town- “I'll meet you in Concordia. We need to have a talk with this guy.” Jack growled out, storming out towards the door.

“ _Hey! Don’t forget me!_ ” Shit, he forgot Rhys. Jack rushed back, grabbed the Dahl echo from Vaughn along with a gun some Scav must’ve left behind, and started leaving the office.

“Like _kill_ him? Or actually... talk?” Timothy asked curiously, the doppelganger's face popping up from below the echo. All Jack could see was his hair, forehead, heterochromatic eyes looking up, and a bit of his nose. Jack snorted at the sight of a grown man looking so childish and if he wasn’t in such a hurry he would’ve given his copy a lecture.

“Calm down Tim Tams I’m not killing him until we learn out what’s going on.” He hung up the call and continued out into the city. Luckily no one seemed to recognize Jack who strode to the fast travel station.

“ _So…_ ” Rhys trailed off in thought, watching his Activator plug in the coordinates to Helios. When the fast travel network didn’t automatically shut him out it proved their hacking went through. “ _We aren’t... Killing him?_ ”

“Did you want to?” Jack questioned, but he knew the answer already. Rhys scrunched his nose up and sighed.

“ _Not really. I might be a military AI or some sort of weapon, but I’m not a fan of death,_ ” he could still remember how mortified Rhys sounded after he took his anger out on those two Dahl soldiers. “ _I just- never mind it’s stupid._ ” Jack was about to respond when the speakers set up around the city turned on.

“ _Fellow Concordians_ -”

“Oh, this ought to be good.”

“- _I urge you to remain calm. The battle raging above us is no cause for alarm. The laser striking the surface is merely speculating for deposits. For your own safety, Concordia will remain locked down for the next several weeks. That is all!_ ” The announcement ended there with Jack glaring towards the elevator shaft. Even Rhys seemed disgusted.

“ _He’s so pathetic. Really._ ” Rhys huffed, both arms crossed over his chest and chin raised. Jack just grinned because he couldn’t have said it better. By the entrance to the city, he could see the Vault Hunters being escorted in by the guards he had Vaughn bribe. Everything was falling together like pieces of a puzzle.

“Alright, let’s go pay our fellow Merrif a visit!” Jack clapped his hands together with the Dahl echo resting atop the fast travel station. Claptrap gave Rhys a happy wave which was returned with a whispered ‘please kill me’ from the AI. It made Jack snicker.

“The elevator’s still barred.” Wilhelm mentioned, breaking the good spirit with the realization. Jack let out a groan at this mention because he had forgotten that little tidbit.

“Thaaat’s just _great_ ,” he ran a hand down his face, pacing back and forth in thought. “We could- no. Maybe- shit, no that would get him killed.” Jack vaguely waved towards Timothy who went wide-eyed.

“I do have a recording of the Merrif talking sexy to Sereena, the custom bot's favorite squeeze,” Jack was literally going to kill someone because he was _tired_ of people interrupting his thoughts. Moxxi was walking towards the group from the bar, hips swaying and arms crossed. He felt a vein pop when he saw Rhys staring with red cheeks and parted lips. This was their first meeting. “Oh, hello there cutie.” She winked towards Rhys who just blinked.

“Ok ok, Mox, stop flirting with my-” Jack paused for a second, trying to find the right label. “-AI,” he dumbly finished, Moxxi just blinking towards him with a raised eyebrow. Yup, she was going to be giving him some dumb love lesson later. Greaaat. “And your plan wouldn’t work.”

“Perhaps we could blackmail the Meriff with that smutty recording we have of him with the geisha bot.” Claptrap pipped up, for once adding something useful to the conversation. Jack opened his mouth up to refuse but found nothing _to_ refuse.

“That… Actually might work. Also, don’t use the word ‘smutty’ again. I don’t need Rhys learning what it means-”

“ _What does it mean?_ ” Rhys questioned and was grabbed off the station by Jack.

“Nothing, sweetcheeks. Now, let's go find ourselves one soon-to-be outraged Custom CL4P-TP! Get that recording ready Mox.” He started striding off, turning towards the group of Vault Hunters. “You five! Wait for us by the elevator!” Jack gave them a two fingered salute and kept walking, passing by Vaughn who was rushing to Moxxi. “What’s with him?”

“ _Moxxi has been having him help her out. She really is something, isn’t she?_ ” Rhys questioned and Jack bit his tongue. Was he really falling for her?

“You aren’t falling for that snake, are you?”

“ _No, she isn’t my type and I know you two once dated. If you two broke up then why would I wanna date her?_ ” Rhys said as if this was the most obvious thing in the world. Jack just nodded to himself and kept searching.

* * *

 

“Jack, Jackie! Haha, you should have said you were in town! You shoulda said so!” Jack stepped into the office and watched the Merrif stand up from where he was once sitting. He had both hands raised and was breaking into a cold sweat. Wilhelm and Athena stood by the door, cutting off his only exit while Nisha followed Jack into the room. Timothy stayed by the fish tank so he didn’t watch them murder the man, interesting himself with all the colorful fish.

“Heya Huxter,” Jack gave him a threatening grin, sitting himself down in one of the chairs across the desk with Rhys resting on his lap. The AI just stared at the Merrif with unblinking eyes. “You know I traced the signal that took down our systems on Helios,” he started looking at his nails. “Guess what? It came from here- _your_ office.”

“Signal?” Now the idiot was trying to play dumb as if he wasn’t already an idiot.

“Sig-nal. Need me to spell out?” He clicked his tongue in annoyance, leaning back in the cushioned chair.

“She made me do it!” The Merrif blurted out, stepping away from the desk and looking around in frantic fear. Jack simply shrugged, his free hand unconsciously rubbing along the echo that sat on his lap. He started tapping his index finger on the smooth rim.

“Where did she come from and why did she do this? And please, lie to me. I really want you to lie to me.” There was no way in hell Jack was going to kill this guy, but it wasn’t because Rhys told him not to. No, it was _not_ for that reason.

“I don't know!” But he kept staring towards Rhys. “W- What are you gonna do with me?” Jack let his finger tap against the echo for a little longer before standing up.

“Nothing!” He laughed, turning around so his back was facing the man. “I was just messing with you! Get the hell outta here. Let’s go guys,” Jack started walking towards the exit then stopped. “I've been thinking... there's a way back to-”

“ _Jack, he’s armed!_ ” Rhys interrupted his Activator with both eyes shining. Jack didn’t even question the AI, quickly ducking just in time to miss a bullet in the back. The Merrif had instead shot the fish tank that broke and spilled over an unexpecting Timothy.

“Oh come _on_!” Timothy whined, a fish flopping in his hair and soaked. Jack set Rhys down on the ground, growling.

“I surrender-”

“I was gonna let you live, you _dumb bastard_ ! What is _wrong_ with you!” Jack screeched, pulling his pistol out and spinning around. He fired a couple shots off; one hitting the Merrif in the chest and the other hitting his forehead. The fresh corpse fell forward and hit the desk with blood pooling out.

Behind him he could hear Nisha whistle, skipping towards the mess to examine her boss’s work. Jack ran a hand back through his hair with the anger diminishing inside of him. “Woah! That was... invigorating! Okay, yeah. What did you think of that, Rhysie?” He turned to the AI with a big grin that drop at the disappointed look Rhys held.

“ _I told you I don’t like death,_ ” he muttered, looking away. “ _But… I guess it was ok. It was self-defense._ ” Jack scooped the echo up and held it close to his face. It was close enough that it made Rhys look up and start blushing.

“Thanks for the save,” he winked and laughed when Rhys just turned his head away. From the corner of his eye he could see Nisha laughing over the drenched Timothy who was trying to save some green striped fish, Athena standing over him with her fingers pinching the bridge of her nose. Wilhelm was knelt down poking a dead fish and Claptrap was wheeling around the Merrif’s dead body. “I’ll be seeing you shitheads down at Moxxi’s bar! We’re making a fucking robot army!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got questions about the AU? Ideas to mention/request? Wanna talk this nerd? Hit me up over at [TheHobbitSenpai](http://thehobbitsenpai.tumblr.com/)


	10. Felicity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhys discovers that he isn't one of a kind and Jack must make a life changing decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im sorry  
> this is the beginning of the hardcore angst so buckle in kiddos cause we're going on a ride
> 
> side note/warning: if you are not familiar with Borderlands the Pre-Sequel or have not reached the "Let's Build a Robot Army" quest there is going to be spoilers as to what happens so from here on out are some major spoilers to the plot (probs should've mentioned this before damn. sorry sorry)

“ _ Felicity seems nice, _ ” Rhys mused over the comms. Jack was busy infiltrating his way towards his own office, the AI’s talking background noise to him. The fight he threw himself into wasn’t difficult mainly because the soldiers hadn’t been taken by surprise. He snorted in reply to what the AI said, firing off a couple more shots down the hall. Ever since the Vault Hunters saved Felicity from the Bosun, Rhys has been talking about her nonstop. “ _ A bit on the defensive side, but nice. She seemed a bit more military though unlike me. _ ”

“What’s that suppose to mean?” Jack questioned back. Once the hall was clear he proceeded towards his office. The Dahl echo was hooked onto his belt and, sadly, Rhys’s face was no longer being projected. Jack just hoped it might be a temporary effect.

“ _ She sent all those people to kill the Vault Hunters and she didn’t even bat an eye when the Bosun was killed. I understand because of how he treated her, but still. Maybe I just wasn’t built to be a weapon. Maybe I was made to be a social companion like a less annoying CL4P-TP model, _ ” he trailed away from answering Jack’s question to getting lost in his own thoughts. Jack reached the elevator keypad and punched in a few numbers. “ _ Are all military AI’s suppose to have this much consciousness? Do AI’s have human ages or do we have fake ages? Am I only like a week old? _ ”

“No idea, but can you hook yourself into this?” He asked and started waiting for the elevator to land. Rehooking Rhys into the system would help tremendously. It would open up any locked up paths and reactivate all the turrets. “I’m gonna try getting you back in the system.”

“ _ I can’t. _ ” The AI muttered back, Jack now wishing he could see his face to understand what he was feeling.

“What do you mean ‘I can’t?’ The signal is shut off and all our systems are back online which means-”

“ _ I just can’t, Jack, _ ” Rhys interrupted him sharply, sighing immediately after. “ _ And your elevator just stopped. _ ” Looking up Jack saw that his elevator did, indeed, stop halfway in its descent. Deciding that he was getting nowhere up here on Helios, Jack called up the Vault Hunters.

“Hey, kids!” He couldn’t help grinning when someone in the background let out a loud groan. “How's it going down there? Having fun? Keeping things on track with the whole robot army plan?” Jack impatiently tapped his foot on the ground, using his pistol to shoot a wounded Dahl soldier that tried crawling away.

“Yep, we're carving a path using the tried and tested system called violence,” Timothy’s face appeared in the projection, blood smeared across that handsome face and heterochromatic eyes blown wide. “We’re almost- ah! Shit! Nish, don’t even- no!” He let out a girly shriek when Nisha tried shoving a tork’s dead corpse into his face. The call ended there.

“ _ Well, they seemed to be having fun, _ ” Rhys chuckled. Jack just rolled his eyes and started walking back towards the fast travel station. “ _ Wait where are we going? Shouldn’t we try waiting for the Vault Hunters to come up? Find some Hyperion worker to help? Try hacking into the systems? Are we seriously just giving up? _ ”

Question after question was shot towards Jack, each left unanswered. Once reaching the fast travel station he imputed Concordia’s coordinates and prepared to leave. Then the echo went off with another call. Upon answering the call Jack entered a conversation already underway.

“-working on a pet project I've been cooking up, when the Scavs swept in, about to cut me up bad, when I persuaded them I'm a medic. I  _ am _ a doctor, but more the ‘Hyperion R&D’ kind.” The speaker was someone new. Jack narrowed his eyes at the scrawny man who was fiddling with his hands. Why was everyone so fucking fidgety and nervous all the time?

“Jack, you know this guy?” Athena raised the echo up so Jack could see more of this ‘doctor.’ Black-brown hair, brown eyes, pale ass skin, weird R&D clothes- nothing familiar.

“Nooope, don't recognize him. Yo, what's your name?” Jack sat down on a bench beside the fast travel station just in time for another laser to fire from the Eye of Helios. “Man, that thing is driving my ass up the wall. We get it! You've captured our huge scary laser! Gold star!” He yelled to no one in particular, glaring towards the bright beam he could see through the glass.

“I- uh- sorry, bruv. Gladstone Katoa, D Division. What brings you here?” Gladstone replied back after Jack’s temperamental outburst, the programmer brightening up instantly. Even Rhys seemed interested.

“ _ D Division? I looked into a few files Hyperion held when I was in the system. That’s where all the cool weaponry is created, right? _ ” Rhys’s voice made Gladstone jump back, looking around for the faceless voice. “ _ Ah, sorry Gladstone. I’m an AI so you can’t really… See me, _ ” he chuckled sheepishly. “ _ I’m still used to the whole ‘I have a face’ thing.” _

“Why are you here?” The scientist repeated his previous question with more haste.

“Oh, you know, just saving the moon. The usual,” Jack shrugged but sighed when Gladstone still seemed confused. “I need a robot army to reclaim Helios for good and retake the big-ass laser on it from a buncha freaky-looking Dahl military types. If we don't, the moon's going to go boom and take half of Pandora with it.” He added on the bad part of this all just in case Gladstone wanted to stop them.

“Oh... Gotcha. You're after my prototype. Well, it's not finished!” Wait, prototype? Jack just blinked towards the projection and paused their conversation when Rhys detected enemies nearby. He grabbed his pistol.

“What prototype are you even talking about?” When two Dahl soldiers turned the corner he fired, but these two had heard the talking and were prepared. He just narrowly dodged a shot to the head.

“Oh, right. I was working on an... Off-the-books project; a master bot capable of digistructing an almost unlimited supply of other bots! A ‘constructor’ if you may. My prototype's almost done, but the Scavs stopped me from installing some key parts. Besides, I wouldn't want something that powerful to fall into their grimy hands.” Gladstone replied back quickly, sensing Jack’s urgency from all the gunshots. Once the two were killed Jack sat down and smoothed his hair back.

“Alright, you guys go help this dude and contact me when it’s done. Sound good? Great!” Jack hung up.

“ _ Jack, this isn’t going to work. _ ” Rhys spoke up, ruining the good mood Jack had just entered.

“What do you mean this won’t work? That Gladstone person seemed to know what he’s talking about  _ and _ we have two military AI’s!”

“ _ That’s the problem. I’ve run the numbers and it won’t run without some sort of AI powering it. That means unless the five can find some other military AI in the short time we have either Felicity or I is going in there, _ ” Jack fell quiet, thinking over Rhys’s words. “ _ And if it comes to it… I volunteer. _ ”

“Wait what? Rhys- no! No, we aren’t putting you in that,” Jack shook his head and leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees. It was  _ not _ because he was worried about what would happen to Rhys, but it was more-or-less the fact that he still didn’t fully understand where Rhys came from or what he really was. By putting him in this weapon without really knowing much about Rhys it wouldn’t be smart. Definitely not the whole ‘I’m worried’ spiel. “ _ I’m _ not putting you in that.”

“ _ It’s what I’m made for- _ ”

“I don’t even know what you are, Rhys!” He blurted out and covered his face with both hands. “Look, I know you want to help but you are helping enough by sticking with me. Just keep doing your little thing and don’t butt in. I can use Felicity or something.” She was indispensable, but Rhys wasn’t and it was as simple as that. Jack stayed quiet until he heard Rhys finally sigh, believing the AI had agreed.

“ _ No. _ ” And the call between them had gone dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got questions about the AU? Ideas to mention/request? Wanna talk this nerd? Hit me up over at [TheHobbitSenpai](http://thehobbitsenpai.tumblr.com/)


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